preview Tag

It’s been nearly two decades since Homeworld first released. A game that, at the age of twelve, was an utterly wondrous experience for me. The innovation of fully three dimensional movement (something which is still largely unseen in RTS games since), the beautiful atmospheric music, the even more beautiful art of distant nebulae, and the mystery and wonder of the tale being told of the Exile’s journey home.

Dungeon crawling can be stressful at the best of times. I always worry if the next step won't lead to my characters dying in trap, or taking on an unbeatable opponent. But it's worthwhile for all the loot and experience to be earned. Darkest Dungeon takes a new and brilliant approach to a seemingly overdone concept, and it's awe-inspiring.

Codename S.T.E.A.M. isn't the codename for Nintendo's 3DS strategy game, it's the actual title. Developed by Intelligent Systems, the same studio behind Fire Emblem, Codename S.T.E.A.M. appeared at first to be a strange steampunk form of Valkyria Chronicles for Nintendo's handheld. The demo proves that this is not the case, but it's still an interesting game.

I’ve always enjoyed the inclusion of the undead in games. Titles like Resident Evil (back in the day) popularised their existence, and since then anything with a rotting corpse attached pretty much grabs some attention. Dead Island grabbed even more with an emotional trailer that had the internet buzzing, but the game itself felt disjointed, and ultimately fell into the pit of mediocrity. I really disliked it, but I can’t really say the same yet about Techland’s latest game, Dying Light.

Ready At Dawn’s The Order: 1886 looks incredible. Really, it does. I fired up some preview code yesterday, and was astounded at how good the game looked. Yes, it may have those cinematic black bars, but the stuff between them is pure visual eye candy. I’ve been sold on the idea of The Order ever since it was first shown off. I love alternate history, and its setting - a Steampunk Neo-Victorian London – combined with fantasy Tesla-designed weapons has me convinced. That said, there’s been a concern gnawing at the back of my head - it looks great, but does it actually work as a game. I’ve now gone hands-on with a new section. Excised from the fifth chapter of the game, Agamemnon rising, it sees our merry band of steampunk knights boarding an in-flight zeppelin from well, another zeppelin and rappelling down the outside. From the onset, it’s mighty impressive.

Alright folks, it’s time to check out another character from Heroes of the Storm! Last week, I showed you Anub’arak the traitor king. This week, we take a look at Sonya, the badass, dual-wielding female barbarian from Diablo III.

Well here’s something we haven’t done forever! I hope you missed it, because we’re giving Heroes of the Storm loving once more with some hero spotlights. A long time ago, we looked at Nova, the sneaky ghost who excels at sniping off weaker targets. This week we will check out Anub'arak, the traitor king from the Warcraft universe.

So it’s an open secret that a few of the team are currently jamming Sunset Overdrive to ensure we give you lovely girls and boys a full review in time for release. It is also no surprise that we are totally locked under embargo and can‘t really say anything yet.

True survival horror games have been dead for a long time. But much like the unkillable antagonists of your favourite slasher flicks, the genre is once again rising from the dead. Amongst the new generation of such titles on the way, is The Evil Within. It’s a psychological attack mixed with pants-staining thrills and chills. So what’s it actually all about then?

Around this time last week I was getting ready to board a plane. I very briefly visited the land of bangers and mash, mushy peas and fish, for a little sneak preview of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. I got a little hands-on time with the multiplayer and a good look at one of the early single-player missions. I walked away a little conflicted.

For fans of the Civilization franchise, and particularly old school fans of Alpha Centauri, Civilization: Beyond Earth is one of the most anticipated strategy games of the year. It's a must play for any fan of Civilization games, but I'm hoping that Firaxis fixes a bunch of things before the game ships next month.

It’s that time of the week again! Last week I covered Stiches, the disgusting abomination. This week we move over to the Starcraft universe and look at Nova, the sneaky ghost. That’s right, your request to have her in the spotlight has finally been fulfilled!

Gamescom is slowly fading into memory, but we have one last bit of reporting for you - the promised hands-on preview for Civilization: Beyond Earth. I savored every second with the game, and it's even better that you can imagine.